2020 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Tavaris Owens, DT, Tarleton State University

• Name: Tavaris Trent Owens 
• Height: 6’2
• Weight: 320
• Position: DT
• College: Tarleton State University
• Twitter: tavaristrento
  

Tell us about your hometown, and what you love most about it?

• I am from a small town called Hillsboro, Texas. I was there for a short period of my life and my family moved to Whitney, Texas which was only ten minutes from Hillsboro. Neither Hillsboro or Whitney was any good at football when I was in school. With both schools being 2a football there were not a lot of athletes at either school. At Whitney, I played linebacker my senior year at 275lbs but was one of the more athletic kids on our defense so this was needed. I was still able to rack up 180 + tackled my senior year and also get my only college offer from Tarleton State University where I spent my next 5 years. In the future I want to help the young kids of Whitney and Hillsboro Texas by putting on clinics and other things to get the names out so more kids from there can get recruited and not overlooked.

List these three in order of importance and why: Film Study, Strength and Conditioning and Practice?

• I would say most important would be film study because you never want to go into a competition blind and no knowledge of your opponent, film study is also highly preached in every sport. Next Im going to say strength and conditioning because this prevents injuries, and with injuries you do yourself and your team no good. Proper training consistently will prevent you from getting injured in the future. Last but most definitely not least, Practice!!! Practice makes perfect, consistent repetition will make you great in anything you want to do. 

What do you worry about, and why?

• Being from a small city and then continuing onto a small college, I worry about what is next every day, worry about am I working hard enough as the next man who is also in my position or worse, but only time will tell.

Give me an example of when you failed at something. How did you react and how did you overcome failure?

• Anatomy and Physiology was the hardest class I had to take in my college years. I failed the course semester after semester. It took my little brother coming to the school and watching the way he studied for me to realize my way was not working and there was a better way. After absorbing his style of studying I finally did it the right way and passed a lab exam I never thought I’d even get close to seeing a D 

What do your teammates say is your best quality?

• My personality and loyalty to my teammates. 

Who is the best player you have ever played against in college?

• The best player I ever played against was a center from UCO who was playing only his fifth game at center, he was originally a DT but the team needed someone who could fill the spot and he was the man for it. 

What would your career be if you couldn’t play football? 

• I would want to be a private investigator, doing interrogations for the most compelling cases. 

Room, desk and car – which do you clean first?

• Desk,where I spend the most time at. 

If there was a disaster and you could either save three strangers or one family member, which would you choose and why?

• I would save my family member, if I was put in the situation to even save them I would not hesitate to save my blood. 

If you could be any television or movie character, who would you be and why?

• I would be One Punch Man, Saitama. He was a regular man in a world filled with monsters, heroes and regular civilians. The monsters terrorized the cities so much that Saitama had enough, he was not gifted with a super power so he had to get it out the mud. He trained so much and so hard, for so long that one day he became the strongest man on the planet. So every time a dangerous monster would rise from the ground he would go fight the monster only to kill the monster in one punch. Stronger monsters would emerge from the ground every week and Saitama’s battles would only last but a few seconds because he was killing every monster in one punch. He did this so often that Saitama would fein for a monster who could give him a fight.That’s how successful I want to be in the real world with all my competition 

Tell me about your biggest adversity in life and how you’ve dealt with or overcome it?

• Being from a small city and coming from a small university I have still managed to keep my name in the football world and attack every obstacle that I have faced, obstacles that I would’ve never thought about facing as a young boy and teenager. 

What is your most embarrassing moment?

• When I make a nice play and the photographer only catches a picture with my butt crack out. 

What was the most memorable play of your collegiate career?

• As a redshirt freshman I got to play in the Cowboys stadium vs Midwestern State University, and they had a UCLA bounce back who was whooping me the whole game. I played timid the whole first half and then my head coach told me something I will not repeat, but it sparked me up and the first play of the second half I put heavy hands on the guard and dish ragged and made the tackle. After that I realized who I could be and what level of completion I could compete at.

What song best describes your work ethic?

• aha Gazelle- Back in My Bag 

What is the most important trait you can have (Physical or Non-Physical) to help you succeed at the next level? 

• My likability, but I am also very athletic for my size. 

If you could bring one person back from the dead for one day, who would it be and why?

• Sean Taylor to dig into his mentality and mindset when it came to football. 

If you were to open a dance club, what would you name it? 

• OWENS

Who is the most underrated player in the NFL? 

• Ndamukong Suh 

Would you rather be liked or respected, and why?

• Respected because it is harder for someone to stop respecting you but very easy for people to stop liking you. 

What player who had his career derailed by off-field issues do you feel for the most and why?

• Micheal Vick, he is in some places one of the greatest of all time, but without the off field issues, he would be considered one of the greatest in all places. 

Do you love to win, or hate to lose?

• Love to win 

Who has been the biggest influence on your life and explain why?

•My father who was destined for a life of jail or death, but because of fatherhood and god he moved his family away from the violence and became saved at the age of 19 and has never looked back since, today he is known as pastor Owens and is the sole reason I am still alive today and not in the penitentiary, he is the reason for my kind heart and strong head.